Labyrinth sealing devices are commonly used to provide a dynamic seal between a rotating shaft and a bearing housing. The sealing device excludes contaminates from the bearing housing while also preventing loss of bearing lubricants. In some applications, the lubrication level of the housing is above the lowest point of the seal. Commonly, the lubrication will eventually work through the seal and leak, where a non-contact seal is used. A contact-type seal is desirable in such applications.
Labyrinth sealing devices and other bearing isolators typically are made from high performance materials and possess complicated geometries to assist in exclusion of external contamination. As a result, labyrinth sealing devices and other bearing isolators can increase manufacturing costs, machining time, and assembly times. Thus, a need exists for a low cost bearing isolator that still provides high performance.